All the World is Birthday Cake
by I'maMePanda
Summary: All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much. – George Harrison Ezra's birthday was always just a day before. Set in the same universe as Come Together, Right Now. Fluff/Angst/Humor
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys :) So thinking/discussing about birthday fics for the YP 'verse somehow led to this, an orgin fic for 'Come Together, Right Now' 'verse. Which really needs it's own 'verse name if anyone wants to suggest one :). That and a need to flesh out my OC's who I hope you like.

Also, I think little Vin and JD are adorable and I hope you all agree.

There is some discussion of past child abuse, little Ezra has not had an easy life.

Oh, and if you haven't seen it check out my new Young Peacekeepers one-shot, Dynamite! Yes, I said one-shot, it is complete :)

And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated.

*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*

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Jack Larabee felt his wife's eyes on his back as a sudden presence, had been too wrapped up in the paperwork spread across his desk to hear her enter the study. He hunched over them guiltily and a little defensively, and then, feeling like a tool, straightened up and swiveled his chair so he could see her, offering a smile because he didn't know what else to do.

"How are you coming on the paperwork?" Alice's voice was soft, but lacked it's usual warmth, her sweater encased arms moving to cross over her chest as she spoke.

His hand moving to scrub his eyes for a moment before he answered, Jack dropped it, feeling strangely exposed as he did, vulnerable in a way that he knew wasn't fair. He was far, far, from the victim here. "Mostly done. Orin filled out everything I wasn't required to do myself, and it's mostly just signatures and dates. They'll need yours too." Now that the DNA test results were back it was just formalities and red tape to get through, one perk of having both a district judge and the retired head of children's services as family friends. Alice nodded almost absently as she looked around the room, arms still tight across her chest, not comfortable right now in his space. Not comfortable around him. Needing to say something, knowing it would do no good, and might even make things worse, he still lamely offered up, "I'm sorry."

Alice laughed a little, her eyes half-closing and her chin moving down towards her shoulder. Turning her head, hiding her face from him. "Yeah, you already said that." He wanted to get up, comfort her, but instead he just stayed rooted in his chair, glued there. Her eyes turned back to his again, her expression more focused, voice going tight in a way that meant she was holding back angry tears, "You just make sure you dot every I and cross every T. You make sure he is never going back to that-that-." Alice, fully aware that in their house, there was always the possibility of a child listening cut herself off there, but it was enough for Jack to sit forward in his chair worriedly. His hospital ward running, PTA meeting attending, plan for everything wife, had always been far more the type to get even than to get mad, but he could almost hear the stream of curses she was holding back.

"Did something happen? Ezra-"

"Something more than Ezra flinching every time you or me, or even the older kids go anywhere near him? Something more than the rigid, nervous way he holds himself, picks every word with us like if it's the wrong one something terrible will happen?" She paused then, glaring at him, and what the hell was he supposed to say? That first day or two, a week and a half ago now, when her focus had been solely on a nearly thirteen year old betrayal, it had been easier, almost. If she weren't going to forgive him for that, Jack had no doubt he would have already known, for all it was going to be a long while. It would never be quite the same, she would always remember what he had done, and knowing he'd lost that...but she would forgive him. He hadn't known about the boy. Alice knew that. She would forgive him for that too, eventually, but he thought it might be even longer. Knew that her forgiveness didn't wipe out the debt he owed his son, anyway.

"Yeah, actually something more did happen." Her face twisted as she spoke, tears in her eyes, "Vin and JD actually got him to go out back and play in the sprinkler with them," she paused, pressing her lips together and Jack didn't understand, though there was a hollow feeling growing in his stomach. That should have been a good thing, a great thing when he wasn't sure he'd seen Ezra actually play the whole time he was here. The only toys of his own he'd brought with him were his cards and an old stuffed dragon that he kept hidden underneath his pillow-and they only knew about it because of a very tense scene at bedtime a few nights before when he couldn't find it and had nearly gone to pieces until it was discovered, wedged between the mattress and the wall. "Ezra kept his t-shirt on, and it was covered in mud by the time they came back in, so I had him take it off. He has scars from cigarette burns on the back of his arm. Someone was _putting out_ their cigarettes on the back of that baby's _arm_!"

Jack thought he was going to be sick. He heard a cracking noise, and looking down realized that the pen he'd been holding had broken in his hand, the plastic splintering and the ink chamber cracking so it was spreading across his skin and dripping onto the sleeve of the sweatshirt he'd put on after he was done with the day's work. With a curse he turned and threw the pen into the garbage can that rested next to his desk, and grabbed for a handful of tissues to sop up what he could of the mess before he smeared it on everything. "Did the plastic cut you?"

Before he could answer Alice was taking his hand, examining it, and while Jack knew she was most likely just being practical, his wife had hardly touched him in what felt like ages, and he missed her, missed her touch, and waited for her to be the one to decide he was fine and let go. But she didn't, instead perching on the edge of his desk and pulling his hand and upper arm closer, clasping her hand with his and tucking them both under her chin, like she was hugging just his arm to her, and closed her eyes. They both said nothing for a long moment, Jack's eyes glued to her closed ones until they slowly opened, meeting his. The amount of uncertainty in them from the women who had always been his rock hurt to see. He was her rock too, tried to be at least, 'her solid place in the storm', she'd called him once, but when he was the one who hurt her...they'd both been stumbling around blind, with nothing to hang onto or guide them, only Jack had been the one to pluck out their eyes. "We'll find our way to the other side of this." He hadn't meant to say the words, but was glad he had when her eyes, those liquid chocolate eyes that she'd passed on to their only daughter and middle son and that he loved so much, seemed a little less lost, a little more focused.

"I know we will." His shoulders relaxed from a tension he'd felt but hadn't been conscious of, and Alice took a deep breath, then said, a sudden flash of humor in her eyes, "If not you're going to be paying a lot of therapy bills." He let out a laugh and without thinking lifted himself slightly out of his chair, twisting his head to meet her lips. Jack had a split second where he started to worry-and then she was kissing him back, just a firm press of her lips on his that only lasted a handful of seconds before she pulled away, untangling their hands, but it was enough. It was enough. "So," Alice gestured to the pile of papers on his desk, "where do I sign." She saw the look on his face and correctly interpreted it, cutting him off before he could speak. "Don't thank me. We agreed, before we ever said our vows," Jack hoped his flinch at that wasn't visible, and either way Alice didn't react, "that there would be no mine or yours, only ours. I meant it."

And even though she'd told him not to say it he had to. " _Thank you_."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Jack hadn't realized just how many pages he'd signed, but, used to reams of paperwork from the hospital, Alice made short work of flipping through to where Orin had paper-clipped each spot needing to be signed, initialed, or dated, as he finished the small pile he had left untouched in front of him when she came in. "Wait a minute," Alice said suddenly, fingers running over a form that he was pretty sure was actually the school enrollment form he'd picked up from the middle school two days ago, with his transcript underneath. He wasn't sure how it had wound up with the custody papers, but hell, at least this way he knew they were filled out. "I thought Ezra's birthday wasn't until May."

"That's what that damned fact sheet on top of the folder with all his paperwork said." It had looked like something you gave to a kennel when you were boarding a pet, but considering Ezra was allergic to both blueberries and penicillin, he was grateful for it. That was probably the one thing Maude had done right, when she dumped a little boy who was doing his best to not look like he was terrified on their doorstep with hardly a backwards glance, just a pat on the arm that had reminded Jack of the way you patted a puppy looking for attention, a bright smile and a call of 'goodbye, mah darlin' boy,' as she walked away. They had his birth certificate, his social security card, the transcript from the damn boarding school she'd stuck him in when he was ten, though nothing from any other years, and a very incomplete medical history. Or, if it was complete, he hadn't had a check up for almost three years until they'd taken him into Dr. Reynolds and they'd been entirely random before that.

Ezra's birth certificate even had his name on it. He hadn't known they did that, if the person wasn't there to sign it. Another thing that made things easier.

Ezra was still convinced his mother would be back in a few months. Jack didn't think she would have handed any of that over if she had intentions of coming back any time soon, if ever, and either way he wasn't going anywhere with her.

"Well it's not what the school transcript says, let me see the sheet, or better, his birth certificate." That was in his filing cabinet and he pushed himself off the chair he'd carried over, giving Alice his desk chair, and walked over to the wall to pull it out of the top drawer. All the kids had files, but Ezra's, which didn't have either the bank papers for a college fund-not yet-or things like kindergarten graduation certificates stored inside seemed thin and empty in comparison. Heading back over with the whole file just in case, Jack flipped it open as he walked. "Yeah, it says May third. Just two months, hopefully we'll have some idea of what he likes by then." Reaching over and taking it from him as he sat down Alice thumbed through it until she found the birth certificate, and shook her head as she looked at it.

"Jack, the date on that paper is European style, his birthday is March fifth."

"What? What the hell is European style?" Jack shook his head, not understanding, and his brain not quite accepting the reality of what his wife had said.

Sounding a little impatient, Alice said, "They write the day before the month, that's not really the point-it's the _third_. We have the rest of the day and tomorrow to plan something for his birthday."

Jack closed his eyes, his voice sad and disbelieving as he spoke, "She dumped him not two weeks before his birthday." He didn't remember Maude that well, just stolen and hazy weekends scattered over a few months, during a time in his life he wasn't proud of and had tried very hard to forget ever happened until a week and a half ago, but he still had a hard time believing he'd been taken in by someone so, so...cold. She hadn't seemed that way at all.

Alice's hands tightened on the folder and, deliberately, she folded it and set it to the side on the desk. When she spoke again she made no acknowledgment of his statement, Jack getting the distinct idea that he should avoid mentioning Maude as much as possible, even just as 'she'. He really couldn't blame her, though it might make some conversations more difficult. "We need to think about what he likes." Alice reached over, grabbing a pad of scratch paper and a pen off the small cabinet that held his printer paper and extra staples and the like and started to make a list, thinking out loud as she wrote. "Nice clothes-I've never seen a little boy who was so particular. JD told me Ezra's favorite color is red, and he does have that jacket he favors..."

"Cards, card tricks. And poker.", Jack said wryly. Ezra had won thirty dollars off Buck before Jack had realized they were playing for real money. Ezra hadn't known it wasn't allowed-Jack hadn't realized no gambling was a rule he'd have to set for an almost twelve year old-but Buck had certainly known he wouldn't be happy.

"Well, as long as he's just playing for fun, I don't mind poker, but that's not really something you can give as a present, and he already has two decks of cards..." Jack could see that she was writing it down on the list anyway and smiled. Then his smile widened as another thought occurred to him, and he pulled out his phone, looking up a video he'd seen on his Facebook page the other day. "What about something like this?" Alice leaned over and watched the video, and after a minute laughed a little.

"That works. That really works."

*.*.*.*.*

Vin frowned as he walked away from the study door, walking normally, because there wasn't any reason he shouldn't be in the hallway this time of day, and tiptoeing around would just make Mama and Daddy think he was up to something.

When Vin had put his ear up to the door he'd been wanting to find out if they were fighting or not. Mama had plenty of reason to be mad at Daddy, Vin knew, knew that Ezra being Daddy's son meant that Daddy had slept with Ezra's mama-and not the slept kind of slept, but the s-e-x kind of slept that Chris was always teasing Buck he did too much of. Vin wasn't quite sure what sex was, other than that it involved your private parts and made babies, but he knew if you were married you weren't supposed to have it with anybody except who you were married too. But they hadn't been fighting, even though they'd been in the study like they wanted to be alone. They'd been talking about Ezra and how his birthday was coming up, in only a couple of days. So maybe they'd made up, and then Daddy wouldn't leave for sure.

Chris had said he didn't think Daddy was going anywhere, and that Mama definitely wasn't, but then Vin had reminded him that a lot of times in movies and on TV, the dad would leave if something like that happened. Chris had looked worried too for a second, but then he'd shook his head and smiled and told Vin it would be fine. Mostly, Vin believed him. Until Mama and Daddy started yelling again. It hadn't been a whole, whole lot-back when Vin lived with his first Mama, before she'd gone to be at rest, the people that lived next door fought a lot, so much it was like they were always yelling, and it was weirder if they weren't. But Mama and Daddy almost never fought, and even when they did they didn't yell much. It had been weird, gave him an almost sick, uncomfortable feeling in his middle.

Ezra was kind of weird. And it was definitely weird sharing a room with him. Though it was better than before Chris had moved out and he'd had to share with JD. JD was kind of a baby still and Vin had been ten for three whole months now.

Anyway, Ezra was sorta weird. He was real worried about getting dirty (though Vin and JD were working on that), and only had dress-up clothes, and he talked so fancy Vin couldn't always understand him. But he was nice most of the time, even if he talked in a way Nathan said was smart-alecky. Nathan said Vin could be smart-alecky too, but he was pretty sure what he was was funny, and when he could understand Ezra a lot of what he said was funny too. Even if he'd heard him say a couple of different things that Vin figured their older brothers would have creamed him for if he hadn't been mumbling them so only Vin could hear.

He wasn't a smart-aleck to Mama and Daddy though, talked real careful around them. Vin thought maybe his mama had been mean to him, 'cause sometimes Ezra looked like he thought they were gonna hit him, and he didn't have hardly any toys, except for Puff, and Ezra had said his cousin gave him to him. And she'd left him right before his birthday, and Vin didn't figure she could have done that if she wasn't mean.

When Vin's first Mama had been so sick, he'd been real scared, but Daddy, Uncle Jack back then, had been there to hold her hand, 'cause she was his sister and he loved her, and to tell Vin that he was gonna come and live with him now, and Vin was still scared, even though he knew him, 'cause he wanted his Mama. Especially when that lady with the clipboard had come and tried to say that Vin couldn't go with him and Auntie Alice, he had to go with her.

Ezra didn't know them at all, hadn't even really believed Daddy was his Daddy at first, so it would make sense if he was even more scared than Vin had been, even though he'd said he wasn't. Actually, Vin remembered with a roll of his eyes, Ezra had said he wasn't scared of _anything._

Coming to JD's door, Vin just walked in, after all JD did it to him all the time. "Hi, Vin!" JD barely glanced up from the Lego city he was busy building, beaming at Vin real quick and then going back to sticking a window in the wall he was building for his skyscraper. Mama said JD might be an engineer someday, the way he liked to build things, but JD couldn't make up his mind on whether he wanted to be a cowboy, a secret agent, or a Texas Ranger. Vin thought JD was good at making up things to pretend to be when they were grown-ups.

Except for that week he'd wanted to be an ice cream truck. Vin had thought he meant an ice cream _man_ at first, but nope, his little brother had meant the _truck._ He thought that maybe even though JD said he knew Transformers was just made-up, he was still hoping. Vin had caught him talking to Daddy's truck once, telling it he wouldn't tell and wanted to be friends. "Hey, JD. Got something important to talk about." The little boy swiveled around where he sat on the carpet, and, with his legs still criss-crossed, used his hands to push himself over closer to Vin. Figuring that was as good a place to talk as any Vin plopped down across from JD.

"What is it?" JD's cheerful look was gone, and he lowered his voice, anxious, "Did something happen?"

"Nothin' bad," Vin reassured him. "Just I guess it's Ezra's birthday Monday. Figure we should see about getting him a present."

*.*.*.*.*

"I still say Ezra would like my dinosaur lots and lots." JD said, pouting as he stared at the attic door. "Plus, Savannah said she'd glue me to the ceiling if I went in her room again, and she does a _lot_ of crafts, she has special super strong glue. She showed it to me."

Ignoring the dinosaur comment-JD thought Ezra would like it so much because he liked it that much, and so even if Ezra wasn't too big for it, JD would probably change his mind before too long and want it back-, Vin said, with a little less patience this time, "We ain't going in Savannah's room, we don't even have to open her door to get to the storage room. And I'm pretty sure you're too heavy for her to gorilla glue to the ceiling, anyway."

" _Pretty sure!"_ JD squeaked, looking like he thought he was gonna spend the rest of his life stuck up next to the glow in the dark stars on their sister's ceiling.

Trying to keep a straight face, as a wicked little light appeared in his eyes, Vin shrugged and said, "Mama would make her unstick you. 'Course, she might not notice you're gone for awhile...but I bet sleeping on the ceiling for a night would be a lot of fun."

"Vin!" JD huffed, "You're being mean, I'm not gonna play with you anymore." He turned to go back down the stairs and Vin moved quickly to block him.

"We ain't playin' JD, this is important. There's lots of neat stuff in the storage room that Ezra might like, everybody's old toys and games that weren't broke, and lots of other old stuff we can explore." Vin knew JD liked to explore more than just about anything, and figuring it couldn't hurt, offered, "It'll be like we're Indy and Short-Stuff."

JD considered this for a moment, head cocking to the side, "I get to be Indy?"

Vin shrugged, not really caring, "Sure," then grinned a little as JD cheered.

"And just what are Indiana Jones and Short-Stuff going to be doing in the storage room?" Vin turned, flashing his sister a sheepish looking smile. They weren't really supposed to go in the storage room, anymore than they were supposed to go into Savannah's room since Daddy had turned the old play room into a bedroom a few years ago so she wasn't 'swimming in testosterone from every angle' like she'd kept saying. Vin had looked up testosterone in the world book and figured out she meant that she was surrounded by boys, and she kinda was.

"We're gonna find something really cool to give Ezra for his birthday, it's on Monday," JD said, excited again now that he was Indy, then real quick, like he'd just remembered, "I'm too heavy to glue to your ceiling!"

Savannah looked like she was trying not to laugh as hard as Vin was, than said, voice teasing just a little, "As long as you stay out of my room you don't have to worry about it, do you?" JD gave her his best puppy dog eyes, and Savannah relented a little. "You're probably right, you are too heavy." JD looked relieved for a second, until Savannah said, sweetly, "I guess I'd just have to use duck tape instead," reaching out to pull him close and start tickling his side as she did, JD laughing even as he shouted about no duck tape. "Oh yeah, lots and lots of duck tape, so much you'll look like a duck tape mummy."

"Savannah, quit teasing your brother, and JD, I've told you about going in Savannah's room." Daddy's head popped through the half open door at the bottom of the short staircase, raising an eyebrow and stepping through it when he saw all three of them. "What are you guys up to?"

"I was thinking I might take these two over to the strip mall for a bit, get slurpies. Maybe get more pictures of Buck with that ridiculous pizza hat on his head." Savannah grinned a little as Daddy shook his head and tried not to smile, but Vin noticed she'd stiffened a little. Savannah and Chris were both mad at Daddy, only where Chris had yelled a whole lot just once, Savannah hadn't yelled at all, but every once in awhile said something Vin didn't think she'd get away with saying ordinarily.

"Your brother is working very hard, and I'm proud of him." Vin figured Daddy was right about Buck working hard, he was trying to save up to move out, but that didn't mean he didn't look pretty stupid in that hat. The free pizza was awesome, though. "It's fine with me if you take them, but check with your Mama first. And see if Ezra wants to go."

Vin frowned, because he thought they were really going to the mall to get a present for Ezra, and that wouldn't work at all if he was there. Vin thought he'd probably say no if they asked, but what if he didn't? Before he could figure out what to say JD piped up, almost shouting, "No, Daddy, that will ruin it!" Daddy just stood there for a second, shocked, and then he looked really sad.

"I'm sorry you think that, JD. I think if you give your brother a chance you'll really like him."

Now JD looked really confused. "I wouldn't wanna get him a present if I didn't like him."

"A present," Daddy shook his head, a smile replacing the sad look on his face, the sort that meant he was proud of them and surprised about what they'd done at the same time, "...you know, I should probably be asking which one of you was listening at the study door, but I'm not going to. Does anyone else know about Ezra's birthday or just you three?"

"I'm surprised _you_ know," Savannah muttered, almost, but not quite, under her breath, not paying any attention at all as Daddy's eyes narrowed just a little at her.

"Savannah Rose..." Huh. So maybe Daddy was gonna stop ignoring it. Vin figured that meant he needed to start paying more attention to his homework again too. Mama had signed the late slip Mrs. Lowery had sent home about his book report without saying much, but he didn't figure that would happen again.

"What? I just meant with everything that's going on, I'm glad it didn't get forgotten." Savannah was pretty good at most things Vin thought, but she wasn't a good liar. The words sounded good, but her face looked guilty.

Daddy shook his head, then nodded, then said, "Yeah, so am I." He stuck his hand in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, saying, "Here, add this to what you were going to spend," as he opened it and pulled out a ten dollar bill, holding it out to Savannah.

"Cool," she walked down a stair, reaching out to grab it, and then paused with her hand on it, "You know, we should make this a really special one."

"If you're asking me for more money, the answer is no. I wouldn't be surprised if one of your brothers would be willing to chip in."

Savannah rolled her eyes, and said, "Well, I wasn't," even though Vin was pretty sure she had been, "but that's not a bad idea."

*.*.*.*.*

Nathan was walking down the hallway munching on the last of an apple, planning to get his Physics book and notes, go down to the den where he could spread them out on the big work table, when he heard-well, not crying _exactly_ , but almost, coming from Vin's room. No, Nathan corrected himself, as he hesitated outside the door, Vin _and_ Ezra's room. From the sounds of it, it wasn't Vin who was upset.

Nathan wasn't sure how he felt about Ezra being here, about the disruption to their lives, his mother's tears, and the idea that his father had, that he had...

But that was Daddy's fault, not Ezra's, Nathan thought, feeling guilty for just standing there doing nothing. He was just a little boy. Even if he was kind of a brat sometimes. That was probably Daddy's fault too, seeing as he hadn't been there to teach him any better. He knocked on the shut door so Ezra wouldn't be surprised, moving to open it, when a voice that somehow managed to sound like it hadn't been crying at all, and was also offended that someone had knocked, called out, "Ah am extremely occupied, please do not entah the premises!" 'The premises' Nathan shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. Made it sound like he had his own private estate.

"It's Nate, Ezra. You sounded like maybe you were upset?" He cringed a little after he said it. Smooth Nathan, real smooth.

"Ah am perfectly fine, and have already stated Ah do not wish for company at the moment."

"Ezra-"

"Go away and leave me alone!"

"Fine, then! Be like that!" Nathan snapped through the thin wood of the door, turning and marching the rest of the way to his room. Daddy's fault or not, that kid was definitely a brat.

Only then Nathan could hear him really crying, not just almost crying like he had been before, and, with a curse his Mama would have scolded him for, he let go of his doorknob and walked back to Ezra's door, taking a breath before he pushed it open. Whether he liked it or not, Nathan wasn't going anywhere until he figured out what was wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey everybody! Short chapter, but I hope you like it.

Thank you to everybody that reviewed! MamaBear2Two, BlackRoseAki, Finabin, Sorins, Nickel, Rick Castle, Lunez, Alejandro :) You guys rock.

*.*.*.*.*

Ezra had had no say in either himself or his possessions being forsaken on the Larabee's-his _father's_ -doorstep. If the decision had been in his influence he would never have left Woodmont, but Mother hadn't desired his opinion when she'd removed him from the school six months ago, nor on the likelihood of the latest venture she and her newest paramour had mandated Ezra's participation in to succeed.

He hadn't meant to ruin everything. The scope of the job had simply gone past the perimeters of his skills. Mother had claimed that that had nothing to do with his sudden placement here, that she merely had business to attend to which he could not accompany her on, that in regards to 'that horrendous debacle' she was merely thankful he was alright, but Ezra was certain it had.

Now it seemed his presence here was deemed to be ruining things as well. Out of the entire household he would have that JD, who had acted as though he desired both Ezra's attention and companionship several times over the last few days, would have been the last to deride him so. Perhaps he'd just been a convenient companion when the others were too busy or unwilling to spend time with the little boy, and JD had never liked him at all. And he'd shouted so at Nathan that he was sure the older, and quite a bit bigger, boy would likely be incensed with him, and possibly looking to avenge himself for Ezra's rudeness. Nathan appeared to have quite a solid build, and Ezra had seen the way his face had tightened in disapproval when he'd been telling Buck about how he'd won his sheepskin jacket off another boy in a poker game.

Ezra straightened up, wiping his eyes quickly and forcing himself to stop crying, holding his breath to make it easier, as his door was pushed open, and then shrinking back on his bed as Nathan marched in, coming to stand in front of him, looking serious. His heart sank, knowing he'd been right, and the older boy was here to at the least rebuke him. It wasn't just, he had been civil the first two times he asked for his privacy! "Look-I know you don't know me very well yet, but I'm your big brother. If something happened that upset you, you can tell me." Ezra stayed silent, surprised and slightly skeptical at this pronouncement, and not sure how he would have responded even if he had greater faith in Nathan's claims. He was grateful though, that the older boy did not appear to have any intentions of getting physical. Nathan just kept looking at him, and while his gaze wasn't particularly hard it still made Ezra uncomfortable, even more so when the older boy's expression softened for no reason that was visible or otherwise clear to him. "Or maybe you just miss your Mama, huh?"

Ezra shook his head, trying to make himself scoff, but what came out was a broken, wet, _mortifying_ sound, and he shook his head even fiercer because he didn't miss her, he was _accustomed_ to this, he didn't need her, or desire her company or time any more than it was clear she desired his.

Which was not at all.

Nathan moved then, squatting down so he was level with Ezra and reminding him suddenly and strongly of cousin Felipe, who had _liked_ Ezra, and who he _missed_ , almost...

Almost as much as Mother. Being able to spend time with her these last few months had been the only thing that made that horrid and arrogant windbag he'd been dreading would be his new stepfather bearable. "It's okay if you do." Nathan said quietly, softly, and it was too much, just simply too much.

"Ah don't miss her, Ah _don't_ , Ah don't require her company or anybodies, not _yours_ either." He snarled it in the teenager's face, hating the tears he could feel on his cheeks even as he was doing his best to appear firm in his convictions, and then he did his best not to shrink as reality sank in, as he waited for Nathan to strike him, or at least upbraid him for his rudeness when it was obvious that the other boy had been trying to help. Nathan did take a deep breath, but he did not use it to castigate or otherwise scold Ezra. Instead he nodded his head a few times, and then, to Ezra's confusion, moved so that he was sitting down on the bed, next to him, but not too close.

"That's okay, too. Maybe you wouldn't mind a little, though?"

Ezra, still wary, kept his eyes on Nathan like he was a snake about to strike, but finally, realizing that the other boy wasn't going to leave no matter what he said, nodded, waiting for Nathan to make the next move.

*.*.*.*.*

Even as the sight of Savannah doing her best to get JD and Vin inside Flour Power without incident made Buck grin, it also made him cringe a little. The last time they'd come Vin had mixed the shakers of parmesan cheese and hot pepper flakes together at half the tables, and while JD hadn't actually done anything but eat pizza, that kid could win an Olympic record for long distance pizza sauce smearing. He shook his head as Savannah first dragged JD away from the ancient mall carousel right out front, probably with a promise of 'later', and then did the same with Vin when they got in the door and he made a beeline for the even ancienter pinball machines off to the side.

JD, once he was actually in the restaurant, was no trouble, like the little homing beacon he was he headed straight for the counter and Buck with a grin. Knowing exactly what his brother wanted, as he looked up at him expectantly, giggling and with one possibly grubby finger in his mouth, Buck said, in his best surfer dude voice, "Welcome to Flour Power, where we have the power to serve you flour." His rueful grin widened as JD started giggling harder, shaking his head. It was the stupidest slogan in the world, and even his seven year old brother knew it. Unlike Buck, who by the end of his shift felt like ripping out his tongue after saying it who knew how many times, JD also thought it was the funniest thing in the world that he had to say it to everyone who came in, even him.

That, and his pizza hat and tie-dyed shirt, but all his siblings were enjoying the hell out of that. Chris had wasted most of his lunch break from the police academy (which was really just an old convention hall that they used half of for classes) twice just so he could grin at Buck from his booth. Savannah kept putting pictures on her Instagram.

He nodded to Savannah and Vin as they walked up-they'd been close enough when he said it to JD, he wasn't saying it again. Vin grinned up at him, half-trouble and half-puppy dog eyes, announcing, "I'll take an extra large sausage and mushroom, extra cheese and extra sausage."

"You got any money?" Before Vin could open his mouth, Savannah interrupted.

"Not for pizza, though I did promise these two slurpies." With a nod, already knowing what flavors they liked-cherry for JD, and half blue-raspberry and half cherry for Vin, Buck grabbed slurpy cups and lids as Savannah continued, "actually, we're here on a mission."

"A mission?" Buck asked a little dubiously, one corner of his mouth quirking up, as he started filling JD's cup.

JD, who had managed to stop giggling by now, said, voice very proud, "We're getting Ezra a present. And guess what?" He kept right on talking without giving Buck a second to guess, "I tooked all the pennies and nickels and dimes and quarters out of my piggy bank and Vin took some of his, 'cause he's saving for a new bike, and has lots more than me, and Daddy gave us ten dollars and Savannah had five dollars and now we have _twenty two_ whole dollars and isn't that _so_ much money?" Buck used to JD's mixture of rambling and rapid fire speech, nodded along, his smile growing less amused and more soft as he listened. That was a damn good idea. Poor little tyke had just been bobbing along in everybody's wake, trying to keep his head above water. He was doing better than he had been, Buck had even gotten him to come for a short ride on Lady with him a couple days ago, but for all he was trying to be brave, it was obvious he just plain found them all overwhelming.

"That's a good idea, little bit."

JD, always one to give credit where credit was due, nodded, saying, "It was Vin's."

Buck turned his attention to a suddenly shy looking Vin, "Good thinking. I reckon that's exactly what Ezra needs, a welcome home present." To his confusion instead of looking pleased, Vin looked surprised for a second and then a little awkward. "Junior? What's wrong?"

Savannah answered for him, "Well ,it would have been nice if all of us-not just you, Vin-had thought of that, it's actually a birthday present."

"Birthday? Hell, we didn't miss it did we?" Buck's smile dropped right off his face at the thought. That would sure as hell set everything back a bit.

"No, it's not until Monday." Savannah shook her head, "and we only know because Vin decided to play spy-"

"I wasn't playin'."

Savannah ignored his muttered comment and kept right on talking, "and overheard Mama and Daddy talking about it. And they only figured it out today too, it sounds like-something about Daddy reading the date wrong on one of the papers, or maybe the date being written wrong, but you think he would've noticed the date on his birth certificate and that they were different."

"Hey." Buck said, raising an eyebrow at his big sister, "It's you and Chris that are in a 'who can be the maddest at Daddy' competition remember? I figure he's got enough on his plate right now, doesn't need us piling more on."

"You were even madder than I was at first." Savannah said, looking a little embarrassed, but speaking pointedly.

"Yep, 'cause he hurt Mama, but I got over it. It ain't like us being mad makes things any easier on her." Buck said with a shrug. It was the truth, just meant Mama would have to deal with even more stress, and if Savannah couldn't see that she was just being stubborn. After a second his sister gave a reluctant nod, though her next sentence completely avoided the topic.

"You're off in fifteen aren't you? Both Vin and JD declared you the best present giver." Chest swelling a little as JD nodded vigorously and Vin shrugged but didn't deny it, Buck nodded.

"Yep, I am, and on the presents, you _know_ I am." He gestured around the restaurant, "We're pretty slow, guess you guys could hang out in here until I-"

"No," Buck looked over his shoulder at the sounds of Virginia, his manager and the best pizza maker they had, shaking her head at him, "After what those little terrors did last time? Just go, like you said, we're slow." With a whoop, because he'd been ready to leave two hours ago, Buck pulled off his hat, and went to go around the counter, when Virginia interrupted his flight with a snort, saying, "I still expect you to clock out, not paying you to go shopping."

"Oh." He grinned sheepishly at her, going back to the register, "Yeah, forgot about that."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, how is everybody? Getting ready for Halloween? This isn't the story I expected to get a chapter out on next, but inspiration can be a strange thing. Took a while to get both Nathan and JD's voices right, but I think I got them and I hope you like it :)

Shout out to you awesome reviewers, because I love you all: MamaBear2Two, Lunez, JudyL068, History Grrl, Guest, Macberly, thank you guys! You rock!

Oh, and Carrie487-your idea is still in the works :)

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"Ah do have some apprehension about history lessons, as those at Woodmont were often from a quite different, at times contradictory, perspective from those in mah prior schools." Ezra was still sitting somewhat stiffly, still not saying much that went beyond small talk, but he was talking, and since it had taken Nathan awhile to get him started, he was fine with that.

Nathan shrugged as he answered, "That makes sense, different countries have different perspectives-I bet the way they teach about the revolutionary war isn't much like what we learn here."

"Ah'm fairly certain they don't teach about it all, we are fah from the only colony they lost, and probably not the only one arrogant enough to believe that loss left a mark." Nathan chuckled, a bit delighted by what was the frankest answer he'd gotten out of the kid, and the fact that he actually knew something about British colonialism, even if it was just enough to have an opinion. If Josiah actually got the job at the high school and moved home, him and Ezra were going to have some interesting talks.

"Well, if I remember correctly sixth grade is a lot about the really ancient world- Mesopotamia, Greece, the first Chinese dynasties, things like that. Pretty interesting, actually."

A small light seemed to come on in Ezra's eyes then, his face growing animated as he talked, and Nathan felt both triumphant and lucky, as he hadn't expected his simple comment to do that, "We started studying Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt and India in the summer program Ah attended, and scripted and designed a play from one of the stories from One Thousand and One Nights. Ah had-", and then just as suddenly as it had lit, Ezra's face darkened, for just a second, before smoothing back into that careful expression he'd been wearing every since he'd calmed from his outburst. He cleared his throat and said, "Pardon, allergies. Ah had a prominent role, but unfortunately Mothah required me elsewhere before the commencement of the show."

He had said it like it didn't bother him at all, but that was clearly crap, even without the whole fake allergies comment making it obvious, and Nathan found himself having to tamp down resentment towards a women he'd never met. Voice honest, he said, "I'm sorry, that must have been disappointing after all your work."

Ezra shrugged, pulling off a lightness that had Nathan thinking he would have been great in his play, and said, "It was a pleasant diversion for a time, but there are othah activities more important to a young man's education than play-acting. A childish amusement, really." Nathan swallowed, certain that Ezra was at least partially quoting someone, and fighting down the urge to tell him he _was_ a child. Probably, the eleven-year-old would be insulted if he did.

"Well, you'll at least get to learn about some of the same things, but," he almost told him 'but the sixth grade class play was in January', but switched it to, "I'm not sure what society they're studying at the end of the year," at the last second, thinking the other might be like salt in a wound.

Ezra said something non-committal about how he was sure any topic would be interesting, and Nathan found himself not sure what to say next. Trying to figure out what had upset Ezra earlier, if it was just, well, everything, or if something had happened today, had been a no-go, so Nathan had dropped it, and he wasn't going to bring it up again. School had been a safe subject, but now it seemed like there were minefields there too. Nathan's eyes traveled around the room that, so far, his new little brother hadn't put much of a mark on, searching for something else to talk about, before they came back to rest on his brother. Ezra was fiddling with his faded blue bedspread(Nathan thought it used to be Buck or Chris's; Mama had been thinking of something that was not too heavy and not too light for spring, something clean and not musty smelling, when getting the bed ready for Ezra, not looks) with one hand, the other tucked neatly into his lap, it clearly up to Nathan to take the lead. He smiled at him when he saw Ezra look over at him, and, somewhat lamely at first, said, "I'm sure you'll do fine in school, most of the teacher's are nice...especially the sixth and seventh grade science and health teacher, Mr. Price, he's kind of weird, but really funny. He dresses as the food pyramid when he teaches about nutrition." Ezra looked at him as though he had said the teacher set himself on fire and danced around on his desk every year to teach them about fire safety, and Nathan had to hide a smile.

"That certainly sounds like it would be a memorable experience." There was a slightly sarcastic tone to Ezra's voice as he answered, that definitely implied what he thought would be memorable about it, and Nathan didn't bother to hide his grin, or the eye roll. Boy was close enough to being a teenager to count, that was for sure. Still, he wasn't comfortable teasing Ezra about his response, the way he might have Vin, so that meant he needed something else to talk about again. They'd already talked about horses-Woodmont, the boarding school he'd been to (all the way in England, and when he'd asked Ezra if his mother had been living in the country while he was going to school there, he'd looked confused at the question, and said he'd thought she'd spent much of that year in Greece, but he wasn't sure) had had stables, and riding lessons had been part of the curriculum. He hadn't said it, but Nathan had gotten the feeling that that had been his favorite part-though history was clearly the winner for academics. If he hadn't been so little when she'd sent him, younger than Vin, Nathan might have been jealous-learning Latin at ten?-but that just seemed too young to go away to school. He'd spent a lot of time earlier this year looking at and applying to colleges, and had partly settled on the local school for his first two years because of cost, but partly because being the idea of being across the country on his own was a little intimidating, even from a year away. Ten was a baby compared to eighteen.

Knowing he needed to say or do something, before the silence switched from companionable to uncomfortable, Nathan took a look at his watch, frowning as he saw it was after lunch time and remembered it had been his turn to make it. Well, Ezra was the only one of the kid's at home, Savannah had been getting shoes and sweatshirts on the little ones earlier-Nathan paused, as the very obvious reason Ezra had been so upset occurred to him, his lips tightening as he wondered what Savannah had been thinking. They'd talked, all the older kids, the day Josiah had driven in from the city, about how none of them were going to blame Ezra, no matter what happened-really, Josiah had told them all, in one of his 'sermons', but it wasn't like anybody had been thinking anything different. Nathan didn't think Savannah would be cruel on purpose, but he didn't like to think she'd forgotten him so easily either. It just wasn't like his sister. Shaking the thoughts away, because there was nothing he could do about them now, Nathan turned to Ezra, smiling. "Are you hungry? I was thinking grilled cheese, maybe some tomato soup, for lunch?"

The boy startled, having gotten lost in thought, he guessed, just enough for Nathan to notice, and then pasted on a polite smile and nodded at him, "That would be most agreeable, thank you."

"Well, c'mon. You can keep me company." Standing up and leaving slowly, stretching a bit to give Ezra plenty of time to get to his feet, Nathan smiled to himself as he heard the sounds of lighter footsteps trailing after him into the hallway and down the back stairs. Trying to be casual as they walked into the kitchen, he said, "Can you grab a loaf out of the breadbox? Whatever looks best," over his shoulder as he headed to the fridge. Grabbing the loaf of cheddar and a tomato Nathan turned towards the counter, saw Ezra's slight frame peering into the bread box, and decided to grab a package of sliced ham too. By the time he had carried everything in his arms over to the cutting board and set it down Ezra was walking over with a loaf of crusty bread with garlic cloves in it. Ordinarily they used it for spaghetti sandwiches, but Nathan bet it would make great grilled cheese, his stomach rumbling a little at the thought. "We're regular gourmets," he joked, taking the bread from Ezra. "You mind getting a couple cans of tomato soup out of the pantry? It's the third shelf up on the left." Ezra nodded and went to the pantry without a word, Nathan frowning in confusion when he swung the door shut after him, "Okay, then..."

He'd got the bread sliced and was starting on the cheese, considering if he should see what was taking the kid so long, when Ezra finally emerged from the pantry, the quiet, slightly unsure boy who'd walked into the pantry, replaced with one who had a small, confident looking, and maybe even a little sly, smile on his face. Nathan had heard of people taking a minute to put their face on before entering a room, but this was a little ridiculous. He'd play along, Ezra wanted to act like he'd never been upset, fine-it wasn't like Nathan hadn't been there, and they both knew it. That was the important part. "Here is the soup requested, it was on the shelf you indicated, but it had been pushed behind a large quantity of chicken noodle and pork and beans." Nathan said thank you, and told Ezra he could just put it on the counter, barely able to finish the words before he was talking again. "Is there any othah way Ah could assist you in making the meal? Perhaps setting out the plates and cutlery? Or should Ah retire to the table?"

Nathan blinked, surprised at the sudden stream of words, then shrugged. "Sure, you can grab plates and bowls if you want, thanks. You want tomato on your sandwich?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

JD looked seriously at the different toy boxes in the Lego and building set aisle as they went down it. He was trying to be quiet for two minutes because Savannah had said she'd give him a piece of gum if he did, but it was hard, because everything was really awesome! Like the model planes over there-tugging at Vin's shirt sleeve instead of saying his name, because it was watermelon gum and yummy, JD pulled his brother with him to look at miniature fighter pilots, jet planes, and even a model that looked like the one the Wright brothers flew! Vin had a book on airplanes that used to be Chris's, but sometimes he let JD look at it with him. Vin squatted down to look at a model of a spaceship and JD copied him. "Do you think Ezra would like a model plane?" Then, realizing he may have lost his gum, he clamped his lips shut and tried to act like he hadn't said anything, while he and Vin looked at the spaceship box, and then one that was supposed to be a model of a real space shuttle. JD liked space shuttles, and space ships, almost as much as he liked big, big buildings.

They'd already looked at the puzzles, craft kits, and action figures, and there had been a great big puzzle with a picture of a space shuttle in space, but everyone had said puzzles were too boring for the first gift they gave Ezra. JD had thought that one was really, really cool, but Buck had said not everyone liked machines and space as much as he did, and the present wasn't for JD it was for Ezra. JD knew that! Plus, they had 27 dollars now (Buck had had five in his pocket) and that puzzle had cost 31 dollars and 99 cents, and JD knew that meant it was a whole 4 dollars and 99 cents too expensive. It was still a really, really neat puzzle. Maybe someday, when JD had a whole 31 dollars and 99 cents of his own he'd come back and buy the puzzle. Then he'd take it home and ask Ezra to do it with him and they'd have a ton of fun, and Buck would feel silly. JD got a dollar a week for getting the eggs from the chickens and feeding them, and also keeping his room clean, though he didn't always do as good on that last part. JD liked to eat eggs, and he didn't like for the chickens to be hungry, so that was easier to remember. It would take a long, long time for JD to get that much money, he didn't know how many months there was in 32 weeks, but it had to be bunches of them. Plus, it would be super hard to not spend any of it, not when he could buy candy, or stickers, or treats for Kiwi, who was his favorite kitty. It might take him _50_ weeks to save up that much money, but JD bet he could do it.

Getting bored with the planes, JD leaned over and whispered in Vin's ear, because he still wanted that gum, "Hey, Vin? Should we get him a plane?", fidgeting as Vin cocked his head to the side, thinking about it.

"Maybe. We should look at the cars, and the other kinds of building kits, too." Vin reached up and picked up a model with the words B-52 Stra-strato-with a big word JD couldn't sound out on the box, but it had lots of spots underneath it with missiles in the picture.

"Vin," Buck said, "careful picking stuff up. Something gets broke, they might kick us out before we get a present for Ezra." Vin mouthed the word bossy so only JD could see it as he put the box back on the shelf and JD grinned at him. Buck wasn't as bossy as Chris, and definitely not as bossy as Nathan, but all their big brother's were bossy, and Savannah too. Oh, he bet it had been long enough she'd give him gum now!

JD turned to his sister, who was looking at one of the big Lego kits on the top shelf, and, grinning hopefully at her, asked, "Savannah? Is it two minutes?"

Savannah nodded and, said, her voice pretend shocked, "Almost three! You, little man, are getting super good at the quiet game." Then she pulled a pack of gum out and gave JD his piece of watermelon gum, reminding him, "Don't swallow it, and don't get it in your hair or Mama will kill me."

"I'm not a baby, I won't do none of that." JD said, voice indignant, but Savannah only said thank you back. Then Vin asked for a piece of gum, and got one, and that was good, because he'd been quiet too, even if it wasn't as hard for him, but then Buck asked for one, and he'd been talking to Savannah the whole time! Except for when he'd seen one of his girlfriends and gone off for a couple minutes, to 'talk', and that had been before the quiet game anyway. JD figured they'd been kissing, because he had red stuff that Vin said was lipstick right below his lip now, and Vin had said he'd give him a quarter so his piggy bank wasn't empty when they got home if he didn't tell, and Savannah had heard and laughed really hard, and said she wouldn't tell him either.

"Hey, JD, come look at these." JD turned his head away from the model cars that were next to the planes, to see that Vin was over by a bunch of-robots! They were robots, only super weird ones, that looked sort of like bugs and aliens and machines all at once, and as JD ran over Vin turned the handle on one that had been left open on the shelf with a sticker on it that said 'use me' around and around and it started lurching around the shelf, click-clacking on it's twelve tiny legs. It was the best thing JD had ever seen! He stepped even closer and stared at the shelf, then clapped his hands together in delight.

"I want to do it, I want a turn!" He heard Buck laugh as he stepped up behind him and ruffled his hair, JD automatically pushing it out of his eyes when it fell there.

"Slow down, lil' bit, you're about vibrating outta your shoes."

"Look at 'em, Buck!" JD turned and tugged on Buck's hand to make sure he was looking, because he wasn't sure Buck realized how amazing they were, "They're robots! Look, that one in the box has gears!"

"Sure does," Buck said, "Real fine looking-and it looks like that centipede looking one with all the legs that Vin had a go at is winding down. Your turn, but be gentle with it, alright?" JD nodded his head vigorously and stepped forward, doing his best to be gentle, because it would be terrible if he broke a _robot._ Holding it in one spot he turned the crank around 'til he couldn't turn it anymore-a whole six times-and then let go. He was too amazed to do anything but stare as the robot centipede moved all around, moved because _JD_ had _made_ it move. Forget making buildings, JD wanted to learn how to make these! He heard Savannah say to Buck, 'while, we know what to get him for his birthday, don't we?', and Buck laugh and say, 'yep', back and he wished really hard for a second that it was his birthday, not Ezra's, because he didn't want to wait-he wanted the centipede robot, and the one with the big gears, and that one that looked like a funny box on stilts, and even the tiny ladybug one, he wanted them _all._ But it wasn't his birthday and maybe Ezra wouldn't like them as much as he did?

JD kind of hoped that Buck and Savannah wouldn't want to get one for Ezra, because it would be really hard to watch him play with it, even if he was real nice and shared sometimes. Only, they were _amazing_ , and if it was the best present they should get it for him. "Why don't you each take another turn, and let's see what else there is?" JD looked up as his sister, who'd picked up a box with one that was kind of like a little pink pig, and was looking kind of like she wanted it, "These are really cute, but they're kind of small for 20 or 30 dollars, and they don't move for very long after you wind them up." He frowned a little, because Savannah was right, they didn't move for very long, but the one they tried moved really fast for a robot centipede, and he hoped she knew that JD didn't mind that they didn't go for very long.

JD waited while Vin took another turn, giggling as his brother tried something there was a picture of on the back of the box, putting his hand in front of the robot so it climbed over his fingers. It was amazing to see it go all the way across, and it moved a lot slower while it was doing it, and JD figured that climbing over fingers was hard work for robots, especially little ones. On his turn JD turned his hand the opposite way Vin had, and let the robot climb over his palm-it tickled! "Your cheeks are going to start hurting, the way you're smiling," Savannah said, but she was grinning at him while she said it, and let JD pull her by the hand to the music boxes that were next to the robots and point out one that had the letters DIY at the top, which JD knew stood for do-it-yourself. There weren't any DIY robot kits, not that he'd seen, but he thought building a music box would be fun too. He could make it, and play it for Mama, and then she'd start singing again! He told Savannah that and she hugged him real hard, and kinda squished him, and then told him to look at her, so JD did. "You're not going to have to wait for your birthday for Mama to start singing again. I promise. In fact, I bet you if you ask for a song at bedtime, she'll even sing today."

JD beamed at her, because Savannah was smart, and she was a girl, just like Mama, so he figured she was probably right. "Yeah! Mama always sings when I ask at bedtime, sometimes they're funny story songs, like the one about the purple people eater, and she always laughs! Unless Daddy tucks me in, his voice is scratchy." JD made a face to demonstrate what he thought of Daddy's singing-then he saw something else _amazing,_ and with a gasp, he tugged Savannah down the aisle, "Look it! Savannah, look it, Buck, Vin, look it!"

"Okay, okay, what am I looking at?" Savannah asked as JD came to a dead stop in front of a bunch of boxes that had different types of old buildings and houses, Buck and Vin crowding up behind them.

"A castle," JD almost shouted as he pointed at the box, "A castle Ezra can build, and Puff can live in. It's _perfect_."

"Whose Puff?" Buck asked, sounding confused, "You boys ain't been hiding another furry critter that isn't ours in one of your rooms have you?"

"Puff's a magic dragon, dragon's aren't furry, they're silky on their tummies and scaly everywhere else." JD said, shaking his head at Buck not knowing this before turning back to the box. "Look, Vin, it has a catapult! And a drawbridge that really moves, and a dragon friend for Puff, with a knight on his back!"

"Ezra's got a dragon, he really likes it." Vin told Buck and Savannah, before scooting up close to the box and JD and looking it over carefully, JD pointing at whatever he thought was cool on the box and telling Vin why it was cool-you could paint it if you wanted, it said, and he bet Daddy would let Ezra use his paints-while his brother listened and sometimes laughed a little, even though JD wasn't telling any jokes. After a long minute, Vin nodded decisively.

"Yep, this is the one. Good job, JD." JD beamed and cheered, and then hugged Vin real tight, who groaned and said, "You're squishing me," but squeezed JD back anyway, before he pushed him off him.

"Yay! I thought we were never gonna find a good enough one! You really think he'll like it best?" Too excited to wait for an answer, JD sprang around to tell the others, just in case they hadn't heard, that this was the right present, and he, _JD_ had been the one to find it, and froze. Buck had his wallet out and had pulled out another dollar and some coins, and Savannah was digging in the bottom of her purse, and as JD watched she made an 'ahah' noise, and pulled out a few quarters, but he still had a sinking feeling in his tummy as he turned back to the shelf and looked at the part he'd forgotten about. It was thirty-six dollars, and that was too much money, a whole nine dollars more than they had, the dollar and coins being added couldn't add up to that much. It wasn't fair, JD thought, starting to sniffle, though he _wasn't_ going to cry, he just wanted to get Ezra the best present, but they couldn't, and,-

"I thought I heard a herd of wild beasts." Chris! JD hurriedly sucked in a deep breath and rubbed his sleeve over his eyes, because Chris would think he was still a little baby, and JD had grown-up a lot since Chris moved out, maybe even some since he came over last. Vin had run the couple steps over to Chris, the two grinning at each other, by the time JD looked up.

"Hey pard, what are you doing at the toy store?" Buck asked, cheerfully, and JD wondered if he'd had the same thought JD had had-Ezra was Chris's brother too, and maybe he would have enough money that they _could_ buy Ezra the castle and his birthday would be saved!

"Something you and Sarah need to tell us?"

Savannah sounded like she was teasing, but JD wasn't sure what she was teasing him about, though since Chris scowled at her, and said, " _No_.", JD thought it must have been something good. "Rafe's little girl is turning one, they invited me to the party." He held up a shiny baby toy, the kind that had animals that popped up, a lion when you pressed a button, and a bear when you turned a dial, and JD nodded in approval, stepping forward to poke at it.

"That's a good toy, for a baby. Are you and Rafe gonna be partners when you're cops? And detectives?"

"That's the plan." Chris reached out and ruffled JD's hair, "You approve?"

"Uh-huh. Rafe is cool, I bet you guys will put lots of bad guys in jail, huh?"

"Chris, look at this," Vin said, before he could answer JD, taking Chris's hand and pulling him over to the castle, making JD scowl a little, because he shared Buck, Vin could share Chris! "We're getting it for Ezra."

"It's for his birthday," JD piped up, moving to stand on Chris's other side, squeezing in so he could look up and see Chris's face. "We all looked really hard, but I found the best gift." He'd wait a minute, see whether Chris thought it was a good gift too, and whether Buck would ask first, before he asked Chris if he had money.

"Today?" Chris questioned, turning his head to look over his shoulder at the others, a strange tone in his voice, that didn't seem excited enough for a birthday to JD.

"Not until Monday, don't worry," Savannah said quickly.

"I was gonna call you once we got the boys home, and I wouldn't be surprised if Mama would've called before I could." Buck shrugged at Chris, "We only found out today." _Oh_. That made sense, of course Chris wouldn't be happy if he thought no one was going to tell him!

Chris said nothing for a minute, then quietly, "Missed a call from Daddy."

"Missed it, huh?", Buck said, voice a little sarcastic and Chris scowled at him, then shrugged a little and Buck laughed. "You got six-fifty? We're a little short on cash for the best present ever-apparently the kid really likes dragons."

"Sure." Chris nodded as he talked, and JD squealed and threw himself forward the few inches it took for him to wrap his arms around Chris's middle. Ezra's birthday was saved!

*.*.*.*.*.*

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Ezra's castle can be seen here amazon . com Puzzled-Flying-Dragon-Castle-Construction /dp/B00VVKWOGQ/ref=sr_1_19?s=toys-and-games&srs =2599209011&ie=UTF8&qid=1508831244&sr=1-19

and JD's 'robots' are here kikkerland . com collections /wind-ups just remove spaces


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